Mangifera foetida

Anacardiaceae
Lour.
machang
LOCAL NAMES
Burmese (la-mot); English (bambangan,horse mango); Filipino (horse
mango); French (mangue fetide,bachang); Indonesian
(limus,membacang,bacang); J avanese (limus); Malay (bacang,macang);
Thai (maa-chang,malamut,mamujt,ma chae); Trade name (machang);
Vietnamese (xoai hoi)
BOTANIC DESCRIPTION
Mangifera foetida is a tree up to 30-35 m tall, straight bole without
buttresses, bark light brown to dark greyish-brown, shallowly fissured with
broad flat ridges, containing irritant whitish sap turning black on exposure;
crown dense, foliage dark green, branches massive.
Leaves elliptic-oblong to broadly elliptic, sometimes oblanceolate, 15-40
cm x 9-15 cm, stiffly coriaceous, dark green above, clear green below,
apex sub-acute, sometimes rounded or slightly emarginate, base cuneate
or attenuate, more or less bullate between the nerves; petiole 1.5-8 cm,
stout, very swollen at the base.
Panicles subterminal, upright, pyramidal, 10-40 cm long, sparsely
branched, rather densely flowered, deep reddish-pink, inflorescence axes
stout, deeply red to copper red; flowers 5-merous, scentless; sepals
obovate- lanceolate, 4-5 mm long; petals narrowly lanceolate, 6-9 mm x
1.5-2.5 mm, pale reddish-pink at the base, pale yellow towards the apex,
reflexed; stamens 5, 1(-2) fertile, filament ca. 8 mm long, pinkish-purple,
anthers dark violet, other ones smaller, filaments connate at the base;
ovary subglobose, yellow, style excentric, white, 6-7 mm long.
Fruit variable in size and shape, an obliquely ovoid-oblong or almost
globose drupe, 9-14(-16) cm x 7-12 cm, dirty dark olive-green or yellowish-
green, smooth, dull, with brown lenticels, nose reduced to a point or
slightly prominent, rarely prominent, skin ca. 5 mm thick; flesh pale orange
yellow or yellow, fibrous, juicy, with strong smell and taste of turpentine at
its full extent. Stone plump, ca. 6 cm x 5 cm x 3 cm, coarsely fibrous; seed
monoembryonic.
Different forms are recognized by local people. Small, almost globose
fruits (e.g. 'limus piit' in West J ava) are consistently distinguished from
large and more oblong ones which are commonly sold in Malay markets.
There is also another kind, with large, oblong fruits, remarkable for being
hardly fibrous, and finer textured. In West J ava, it is called 'limus tipung'
('tipung' meaning flour, referring to its fine texture). A similar kind ('asem
linggau') was found in East Kalimantan, with, moreover, a large proportion
of fruit having abortive seeds. Sizeable variability in fruit characters is
recorded in Borneo, particularly in South Kalimantan.
BIOLOGY
A striking form, commonly seen in markets in Sarawak, has deep yellow
unripe fruits. Flowering in Sarawak is in May-August, fruit ripening in
August-November. In East Kalimantan flowering is in April-September,
ripening in August-J anuary.
Page 1 of 5 Agroforestry Database 4.0 (Orwa et al.2009)
Mangifera foetida
Anacardiaceae
Lour.
machang
ECOLOGY
The species occur chiefly in primary lowland forest in the wet tropics. In Peninsular Malaysia, it is the most important
representative of the machang trade group found scattered in natural forest. They are adapted to areas with abundant
rainfall, evenly distributed over the year.
BIOPHYSICAL LIMITS
Altitude: Up to 1000(-1500) m.
DOCUMENTED SPECIES DISTRIBUTION
The map above shows countries where the species has been planted. It does neither
suggest that the species can be planted in every ecological zone within that country,
nor that the species can not be planted in other countries than those depicted. Since
some tree species are invasive, you need to follow biosafety procedures that apply to
your planting site.
Exotic range
Native range
India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam
Native:
Exotic:
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Mangifera foetida
Anacardiaceae
Lour.
machang
The map above shows countries where the species has been planted. It does neither
suggest that the species can be planted in every ecological zone within that country,
nor that the species can not be planted in other countries than those depicted. Since
some tree species are invasive, you need to follow biosafety procedures that apply to
your planting site.
PRODUCTS
Food: Fresh bachang fruit contain an irritant juice which may inflame the lips and mouth. At maturity the irritant juice is
restricted to the skin, so that the ripe fruit can be eaten fresh if it is peeled fairly thick. It is a rather savoury fruit, in spite
of its turpentine smell and the taste sometimes is likened to durian, but it is not generally valued as a table fruit. Unripe
fruit, washed in salted water and sliced is used in vegetable salads ('rujak') and in a sour pickle ('asinan'). In Borneo,
especially in East Kalimantan, the fruit commonly replaces tamarind as an acid ingredient in the preparation of sambal.
In Malaysia it is used to make chutneys as well as pickles.
The edible portion of M. foetida represents 65% of fruit weight. Per 100 g edible portion the flesh contains: water 72.5 g,
protein 1.4 g, carbohydrates 25.4 g, calcium 21 mg, phosphorus 15 mg, thiamine 0.03 mg, beta-carotene equivalent
0.218 mg and vitamin C 56 mg.
Timber: The density of the wood is 545-785 kg/m cubic at 15% moisture content. The wood is not durable, but is
suitable for light indoor constructions, temporary constructions and plywood. Streaked heartwood is suitable for the
manufacture of furniture.
Medicine: The leaves are said to be antipyretic and the seeds used against trichophytosis, scabies and eczema.
Other products: Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia reportedly used the sap to deepen tattoo scars.
SERVICES
Ornamental: In flower M. foetida is a beautiful ornamental with upright inflorescences.
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Mangifera foetida
Anacardiaceae
Lour.
machang
TREE MANAGEMENT
Spacing for orchard planting should be 14-16 m.
GERMPLASM MANAGEMENT
PESTS AND DISEASES
Pests: Trunk borers (Rhytidodera simulans, a longicorn beetle) may damage and kill branches, but the tree retains its
viability. The attacks of the bark by Arbela are more superficial. The fruit is often damaged by the mango weevil,
Cryptorrhynchus mangiferae, whose larvae feed in the flesh. The wood is liable to subterranean and drywood termite
attack and fungal attack and during seasoning sometimes also to powder-post beetle attack.
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Mangifera foetida
Anacardiaceae
Lour.
machang
Orwa C, Mutua A , Kindt R , J amnadass R, Simons A. 2009. Agroforestree Database:a tree reference and selection guide
version 4.0 (http://www.worldagroforestry.org/af/treedb/)
SUGGESTED CITATION
FURTHER READNG
Boer E. et al. 1995. Mangifera L. In Lemmens, R.H.M.J ., Soerianegara, I. & Wong, W.C. (Eds.): Plant Resources of
South-East Asia. No. 5(2): Timber trees: Minor commercial timber. Prosea Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. pp. 325-329.
Burkill IH. 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of
Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A-H) pp. 1-1240. Vol. 2 (I-Z) pp. 1241-2444.
Martin FW, Campbell CW & Ruberte RM. 1987. Perennial edible fruits of tropics: an inventory. US Department of
Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook No. 642. 252 pp.
Murkherjee, SK. 1949. A monograph of the genus Mangifera L. Llyodia. 12: 73-136.
Weyerstahl, P., S. Schneider, et al. (1993). The essential oil of Artemisia sieberi Bess. Flavour and Fragrance J ournal.
8(3): 139-145.
Wong KC and Ong CH. 1993. Volatile components of the fruits of Bachang (Mangifera foetida Lour.) and Kuini
(Mangifera odorata Griff.). Flavour and Fragrance J ournal. 8(3): 147-151.
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